b. Jeffrey Atkins, 29 February 1976, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. Initially a rival to DMX as the leading post-millennial hardcore rap artist, Ja Rule made his name on several tracks by his mentor Jay-Z. Raised in the Hollis district of Queens, Atkins made his first recorded appearance back in 1995 on a Mic Geronimo b-side. On the strength of this recording Atkins and his Cash Money Click collective signed a recording contract with Blunt/TVT Records. A solitary single, ‘Get The Fortune’, was generated by this contract, and Ja Rule subsequently signed a solo recording contract with Murder Inc. and Def Jam Records. His high-spirited contribution to Jay-Z’s ‘Can I Get A … ’ attracted good notices, as did his work on the soundtracks to Streets Is Watching (‘Murdergram’) and Hype Williams’ Belly. Ja Rule’s distinctively gruff voice (which rivals even DMX’s rasp) and loping flow helped make his debut Venni Vetti Vecci (an adaptation of the Latin saying ‘he came, he saw, he conquered) a classic of its kind. Radio favourites such as ‘Holla Holla’, ‘It’s Murda’ and ‘World’s Most Dangerous’ hooked the hardcore audience, but spiritually inclined album tracks such as ‘Daddy’s Little Baby’ and ‘Only Begotten Son’ revealed a greater lyrical depth. The album became a multi-platinum success and established Ja Rule as a serious rival to Jay-Z and DMX.
The next project Ja Rule was involved in was also a runaway commercial success. Irv Gotti Presents: The Murderers, released under the Murderers moniker, featured contributions from Ja Rule, producer Irv Gotti, Jay-Z, DMX, and several of Murder Inc.’s up-and-coming new rappers. Like most rap artists, Ja Rule has also developed a parallel acting career, making his movie debut alongside Pras in Robert Adetuyi’s Turn It Up. His second album was recorded in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. Despite lacking some of the rawness of his debut, Rule 3:36 went straight to the top of the US album chart in October 2000, a feat repeated by the following year’s Pain Is Love, which liberally sprinkled a number of highly commercial ballads into the equation. Ja Rule also enjoyed his first US chart-topping solo single when ‘Always On Time’ (featuring Ashanti) climbed to number 1 in February 2002. It was replaced at the top by his collaboration with Jennifer Lopez, ‘Ain’t It Funny’. The rapper maintained his hot streak with the hit albums The Last Temptation, Blood In My Eye and R.U.L.E. , although by now he had effectively alienated his hardcore audience with his blatant courting of the commercial market. Another highly popular collaboration, ‘Wonderful’ with Ashanti and R. Kelly, topped the UK charts in November 2004.
